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By DE Editors

March 1, 2019

The Digital Manufacturing and Design Innovation Institute (DMDII) reports that it will be renamed MxD and will stand as an independent organization from UI LABS, now that it has achieved fiscal health.

Recently, the U.S. Department of Defense announced that it was awarding MxD up to $60 million in federal funding over the next 5 years, including $10 million in guaranteed funding in 2019.

MxD stands for Manufacturing times Digital. Its mission is to drive the digital future of manufacturing, pioneering new technologies that make America’s industrial base and warfighters more resilient and agile. It launched in 2014 with $80 million in federal funding.

“Because of its success to date, MxD is now ready to stand on its own and continue to drive change and impact in manufacturing,” says Caralynn Nowinski Collens, UI LABS’ CEO. “MxD is in a very strong position to fully take control of its own future in this high-growth market.”

UI LABS was heavily involved in supporting MxD and its sister organization, City Tech, as they built out their respective teams, grew membership, launched projects and secured financial support. As each lab has matured, the need to share space and resources has waned while their missions and partners have become more distinct, the organizations report.

Collens will remain CEO of UI LABS through the transition. Once complete, Collens will serve on the MxD board, and UI LABS, as a brand, will sunset with all employees being absorbed by either MxD or City Tech. Chandra Brown and Brenna Berman will continue to lead MxD and City Tech, respectively.

Brown previously was CEO of a metal manufacturing company and then deputy assistant secretary of manufacturing at the U.S. Commerce Department, where she helped envision the nationwide network of 14 manufacturing institutes that includes MxD. Berman previously was chief information officer for the City of Chicago.

MxD has attracted more than 300 partners, including Dow Chemical, Lockheed Martin, Rolls-Royce, Siemens and McKinsey & Company. It has conducted more than 60 research projects with partners in more than 35 states.

MxD is facilitating factory worker training using augmented reality, updating legacy machines for the digital age, and reducing error and scrap in parts, the organization reports.

“There is no shortage of opportunity in the digital manufacturing space,” MxD's Brown says. “It’s at the center of the nation’s manufacturing strategy and integral to the economic competitiveness of our partners. MxD is poised to capture this potential with a renewed focus.”